***
It was late at night when Zayn got a call from his mum, nagging him about when he's coming back. He hasn't told his mum that he's actually leaving London tomorrow evening, he wants it to be a surprised after all. He wants to see his dad try to fight his tears, to see his mum run up to him with a sob, and see his sisters' try to hide their excitement as they race their way up to him.
He bought his ticket three days ago, and until now he hasn't packed his clothes or even prepared his toiletries, so when Jo arrived at his flat and see all of his clothes still neatly lain out in his wardrobe, she almost faint from shock, because all of her belongings has already been packed and ready since this morning, and to see Zayn's suitcase still empty and probably dusty from not having been used in years was a struck to her heart.
She almost snarled at him before she pulls out his luggage from the deepest part of his wardrobe and ordered him to go to the laundry room and wash his dirty clothes. Zayn can't refuse, because Jo has been stressed enough as it is, coaxing her dad to come back to England for her only daughter's wedding and calling up florist and pastries shop to book her a schedule in Bradford.
So, when Zayn left to go to the laundry room right next to their landlord's flat, Jo wasted no time in folding his clothes as neatly as she can as she put it inside his suitcase.
"Excited?" Louis asks as he watches Jo move around Zayn's room.
She whirls around to look at him. "Ecstatic." She corrects with a grin.
"Yeah, I'm sorry again that I couldn't come back with you this early." He apologizes "But I promise I'll be there after a week."
She shrugs "S'all right."
"So," He trails off with an uncertain look "A-are you happy with Zayn?"
She gives him a quizzical look "What kind of a question is that? Of course I am."
He clears his throat "What about your soulmates?"
"We tried looking for them." She shrugs "It's just unfortunate that the universe thinks neither of us should find them."
Louis wince at her reply. "Well-"
"And I'm actually glad we didn't, because I'm happy with Zayn."
"Oh." Louis' face reddens. "Really?"
She hums in affirmation "Being with him already feels like I found my match, which makes me wonder if we are each other's soulmates, but we just don't have a way to confirm it."
Louis sighs in resignation "You love him that much then?"
Jo gives him an absurd look "Of course."
"But what if you actually found your soulmate?"
She shrugs with a troubled look "I'll wish I hadn't." She says "I don't want to hurt Zayn. We got engaged because we felt like we're the best we'll ever have for each other, and leaving Zayn for someone else feels like I'm betraying him."
"So, you'll stay with him even if you found your match?" Louis gapes and he thinks he stops breathing when she said yes.
"I just hope my soulmate would understand." She says carefully "And I hope Zayn would love me enough to do the same for me."
Louis screws his eyes shut "What if Zayn found his soulmate?"
Jo flinches at the question "It's up to him." She bites her lips "But honestly, I don't want him to leave me, and I don't think he will." She says with so much confidence in her tone that it rattles Louis.
"But what if Zayn wants to be with him?" He asks.
Jo gives him a strange look "Honestly, Louis, what is this about?"
"I-"
"Neither of us found them, so I don't think we should even entertain those kinds of hypothetical questions."
Louis gulps "Well, do you remember Harry?" He asks carefully.
"The curly haired one?" She grimaces.
"Yes." He nods reluctantly, not knowing why she scoffs at the mention of Harry.
Jo bites her lips, looking at him dead in the eyes as she lowers her voice "Don't tell anyone, okay?" She whispers regardless of the fact that they're the only ones at the flat.
"W-what?" Louis holds his breath.
Does she know? Does Jo fucking know?
"I think Harry likes Zayn." She says quietly.
Louis gapes "Oh?"
"Yeah." She nods "Remember when we were at the bar a week ago?"
Louis chews on his lips and nods.
"I saw Harry keeps trying to touch Zayn, and I know he was drunk but he keeps pestering Zayn! Maybe that's why Zayn took Harry to the toilets so he could talk to him and not make a scene as he lets Harry down easily."
Louis stares at her openly.
She saw them?
"And later that night, when Harry finally disappeared, I want to tell Zayn that Harry was gone, but I can't find him as well."
Louis pretends to look surprised at the information as he nods to Jo's rambling about Harry. He honestly cannot believe that Jo can't connect the dots on why Harry disappeared at the same time Zayn did.
Isn't she at least a bit suspicious? It was kind of sad to know that the depth of her trust on Zayn run so deep that it wouldn't even occur to her that there might be something happening between Zayn and Harry.
"But I might be hallucinating, right?" She lets out an incredulous laugh "Harry has a soulmate! It's impossible for him to be attracted to someone else." She says, shaking her head as if what she's thinking was beyond her. "Oh, I've also met his soulmate!" She gushes "Grimmy, right?"
"Yeah, Grimmy." Louis nods dumbly.
He doesn't know if he should trust Nicole's claim anymore, because how can Grimmy's tattoo be shaded if he isn't Harry's soulmate, right? And Grimmy seems to be attracted to Harry and vice versa, although sometimes Harry looks more attracted to Zayn, but Louis must be overthinking again.
"Oh, speaking of Grimmy, this is his' by the way." Jo says, taking the jacket that's hanging on Zayn's desk chair. "I spilled my drink on my shirt that night, so Grimmy lent me his jacket."
Louis raises his eyebrows "Zayn couldn't give you his own jacket?"
"That was when he disappeared." She replies, stretching the jacket for Louis to take. "And when I asked Zayn about it, he said Paul called him. There was an emergency at the theater." She shrugs. "Grimmy is so nice, isn't he? Harry's lucky to have him."
Louis inhales sharply. Nicole must be pulling his leg because there's just no possible reason for the shaded tattoo on Grimmy's wrist.
As he takes the jacket from Jo something stumbled out of Grimmy's pocket. He stopped to get the thing that dropped on the floor, and his eyes narrows when he saw it was a medicine foil. There was only one red pill left and it has the letter J inscribed at the front of the tablet.
He took it from the floor not thinking much about it, even when it looks so eerily familiar. He trudges out of the room, easily forgetting that it was the same pill Nicole insisted on giving him that recent night.
***
"Really, fast food?" Zayn scrunches his nose at Louis' choice as they walked through the quiet street of London at five in the morning.
They both left the flat when Louis keeps whining about how he and Zayn should spend their limited time together before Zayn goes back home.
"I'm craving something." He says, looking around for an open store.
Zayn rolls his eyes "You idiot, there's no store open at 5 fucking in the morning other than McDonald's-"
"Except for that!" Louis exclaims, pausing on the spot. "Eat shit, Malik!" He laughs as he drags Zayn to the restaurant. When Zayn looks up, he saw it was Shake Shack, the same restaurant that's near the theater. When they entered the store, there were only two customers inside.
"What will you have?" Louis asks, looking up at the menu board.
"Smokeshack." Zayn answers, before turning to the cashier, and to his surprise it was still the same girl who took his order when Zayn was here with Harry.
It seems that the girl remembers him as well with how her eyes widen and her smile turns big "Hey! It's you." She says.
"You remember me?" Zayn asks in amazement.
"Of course!" She exclaims, still preppy as ever "Your story is the third most voted to be the most romantic."
"What?"
"You answered the survey, right?" She asks "Well, all the survey sheets are posted on the board over there, and below the paper, customers can put a heart sticker to where they think the story is the sweetest."
Louis' eyes crinkles "What is she on about?"
Zayn ignores him as the girl keeps talking "Could we take a picture of you to put it next to your survey sheet?"
Taken back by her request, Zayn nods deliberately "S-sure-"
"Really? that's great-" Then as if she has a sudden revelation, she frowns "Oh, wait but he must be with you too."
"Who?"
"Your soulmate."
Zayn stares at her blankly, beside him Louis bristles.
"The bloke you were with?" She explains at Zayn's blank look. "The curly haired one, the one who keeps calling you 'my boy'."
"Oh, Harry." Zayn says, snapping out of his stupor "That's his name. Yeah, all right, maybe next time." He lies. The girl nods before punching both of their orders at the register.
"What was that all about?" Louis hisses in his ears, but Zayn elbows him on the ribs to belt him up when the cashier turns to them again to give them their order and a piece of paper.
"That's the original copy of your survey sheet. The one posted is a photocopy." She explains "I just thought that you would want it back for a safekeeping."
Zayn nods, thanking her before dragging Louis to a booth farthest from the board.
"Lemme see that." Louis says, snatching the paper from Zayn's hands. "How did you two meet?" He reads out loud. "I met Zayn in a charity concert-"
"Give it back." Zayn huffs, taking the paper from Louis, who lets out a sound of indignation.
"You crossed paths with Harry before? Why didn't you tell me you've already met Harry?"
Zayn rolls his eyes "Don't fuss now, twat. It's a lie. The store offered us an upsized to every purchase we make if we answer this survey about couples, because they thought we were together." He explains.
"That's reasonable." Louis mutters, looking away as Zayn starts to read whatever lie Harry wrote.
He still remembers all the lies they made on how Zayn took Harry to Paris where they fell more in love with each passing day, and how Harry and Zayn had their first date in a coffee shop and how they can't get their hands off from each other. Zayn vividly remembers all of the fake scenarios they created because Zayn desperately wishes it to be real.
When his eyes finally skim to the last question, he stilled on his seat, because it was the only question that Zayn didn't bother to know the answer to. He let Harry decide on that one, because he doesn't feel strong enough if Harry doesn't choose to write yes.
Are you soulmates? It reads in big, bold letters.
Under the question, a single 'YES' was written in big, capital letters.
Zayn stares at the word with shocked eyes and gaping mouth. "We're soulmates." He stammers.
Louis looks up in a mixture of surprise and horror. "W-what?" He gasps.
Zayn looks at him softly "In the survey." He says "Harry said that we're soulmates."
"Oh," Louis chokes after a while. "You and Harry?"
Zayn blinks "This was long ago. It was before Harry found Grimmy."
Louis quiets down for a moment, looking at Zayn almost reluctantly. "Do you really like him?"
Zayn frowns, looking away. He doesn't want to answer that, because it feels like he's betraying Jo again.
"Well, do you?" Louis pushes.
"What does it matter?"
"If you say yes, I'll tell you." He mutters under his breath.
"What?"
"Nothing." He clears his throat, sitting up straighter. "How do you feel about Harry?"
Zayn shrugs "I dunno."
"Yes, you do." Louis urges.
"Why are you even asking me these questions-"
"Just answer me, Zayn." He presses, and he looks at Zayn so imploringly that it made him crack.
"I-I like him, okay?" He stutters, and when he remembers Harry's smile and gentle touch, he immediately found his voice. "And I'm addicted to this feeling, and I don't know how, when, or where, but Harry became my anchor and my comfort. He's like an opium and I don't know how to stop it." He confesses. "And little by little, when he's not with me, I feel myself going crazy, like I can't breathe properly sometimes or think about something without Harry crossing my mind." He says and when he looks up, Louis has this fear in his eyes that worries him, and his posture was rigid as if Zayn has him on a knife point.
"Louis?"
"So, you love him then?" He asks and there's an edge in his tone that made Zayn tilt his head.
"I don't-"
"You do, don't you?" He almost sounds frustrated.
"P-probably." He lies.
"When was the last time your tattoo glowed?"
"What?" He asks, sounding as confused as he feels.
"Your tattoo, Zayn." He repeats. "When did it last glow?"
Zayn gives him an absurd look "Don't be ridiculous, it can't glow. There's no tattoo on my wrist. It's just a scar."
"Does your scar ever glow?"
Zayn gapes at him "Of course not-"
"Zayn!"
"Oh, for fuck sake, Louis, I don't know! I never took my covers and bracelets off-"
"But you did." Louis insists "Nicole said so."
"Nicole?" Zayn frowns.
Louis gulps. "Do you want to continue the wedding?"
Zayn stares at him, clearly flabbergasted and annoyed "Fucking hell, Louis, can we stay on one topic-"
"Just answer the question, Zayn." Louis says in all seriousness "If you say it, I'll tell you."
"Say what? Tell me what?"
Louis lets out a frustrated noise "Zayn, mate, I love you, but I don't know what you want right now. If I tell you this, it will literally change your life, and I don't know if you want that or you're content on where you are right now."
"For fuck sake Louis, just tell me!"
Louis shakes his head "Do you love Jo or not?"
Zayn bites his lips and ignores Louis' question "Just tell me." He says instead.
Louis takes a deep breath and continues his question "When did Harry first meet his soulmate?"
Zayn blinks at him "I don't see why that matters?"
"When, Zayn?" Louis growls, sounding more forceful by the second.
Zayn shrugs, looking more confused and imploring than he ever did before."I don't know, he never mentioned it. I just know that Harry met his soulmate before he met me."
Louis shakes his head "Harry met his soulmate last April 22."
Zayn narrows his eyes at him "How did you know-"
"Where were we that time, Zayn?" He asks, impatiently.
Zayn sighs in irritation, but pauses to think deeply then when it clicks to him, he looks up at Louis.
"Yes?" Louis urges, looking eager.
"You met Harry on April 22 too." He says in realization. "I would know, because he started messaging me the next day."
Louis nods "Harry met his soulmate on that night." He says "It's the same night I met him."
"Okay?"
"Which means?" He trails off, expecting Zayn to finish his thought.
Zayn only rolls his eyes and shrugs.
"You were there that night too so you and Harry were in the same place the night he met his soulmate." Louis answers, emphasizing each words.
Zayn exhales in exhaustion "So what if Harry and I were in the same place that night?"
"Because on that night, I wasn't the only one who met Harry." Louis says slowly.
And when Zayn didn't answer, Louis sighs.
"You met Harry that night too, Zayn."
He raises his eyebrows "No, I didn't. I met him three days after. At the theater, remember?"
Louis shakes his head stubbornly "No, you didn't. As a matter of fact, you met him before I even did."
Zayn shakes his head in disbelief "I would probably remember if I did."
"But you didn't because you were drunk and high."
Zayn rolls his eyes. "All right, say that I did meet him. What does it matter?"
"It matters because your tattoo glowed."
"What?"
Louis ignores him. "Harry met his soulmate that night."
"I know." Zayn groans.
"And you did too."
"What?"
"You met your soulmate that night too, Zayn."
"What the fuck are you on about?"
He sighs "Remember when you told me about a bloke who caught your eyes?"
"Yes?"
"I found him, Zayn."
"What?"
"I know who that bloke is."
Zayn, feeling a thousands of emotions right now and have millions of thought zipping through his head, sits up straighter. His heart was shriveling and it feels like all the blood in his body suddenly left him. He felt hot and cold all at once, and he can feel himself stopped breathing.
"Who?" Was the only thing he said.
***
Nine miles away, a man with a glowing heart named Harry Styles woke with a start.